The process of using the piezoelectric properties of a material in combination with bonded electrodes in the form of interdigital arrays for the control or processing of electrical signals is well known. Surface acoustic wave (`SAW`) devices such as resonators, delay lines, filters or convolvers are in widespread use throughout the world. The vast majority use quartz as the piezoelectric material, however other materials in use include directionally orientated zinc oxide and aluminium nitride. These devices are usually discrete devices in their own enclosure supported and connected to other components by a printed circuit board or wires.
The process of using the dielectric properties of a base material is also well known. Capacitors, inductors or high frequency transmission lines are often etched into printed circuit boards along with other conductive tracks. The dielectric properties of the base integrated electronic structure material of the printed circuit board is utilised in this case.
The object of this invention is to address the case where a number of electrical elements are needed in a circuit, some items requiring piezoelectric properties to function and some elements requiring dielectric properties to function.